Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Guidelines
SIXTH IN A SERIES
Maximizing
Performance Using
Copper Alloys
Cooling With Copper Alloys
Typically the C17200, C17510 and
C18000 copper alloys are used in
plastic forming areas of molds
because of their high thermal conductivity and unique abilities to
attain a more even molding surface
temperature.
The key to obtaining and maintaining plastic part
dimensional stability and
repeatability, critical in three and
six sigma molding, is to expose
each and every
cavity and molding cycle to
exactly the same
conditions. The
molding machine
and/or process
controls provide
the ability to
control melt
temperatures,
screw recovery,
injection rates
Illustration A: Water channel placement showing position
and pressures,
between channel and edge of cavity
cycle time and
forming alloy.
other parameters associated
with the process. Control of both
the mold surface temperature and
then the range of these temperatures is a separate and frequently
overlooked process.
After cavity filling, mold temperature control is the single most
important factor influencing dimensional control of the molded part.
All thermoplastics have to be cooled
from their melt temperature to a
temperature where they can be
MODERN PLASTICS,
Issue date, Folio #, Date, Time
BLACK CYAN
PMS ID
MAGENTA
53
RHP
YELLOW
5%
25%
50%
75%
95%
A fluid circulating
pump with capability
of achieving turbulent
flow rates is an important part of the equation. When using cold
mold temperatures,
typically below 50
degrees F, closed systems with mixtures of
water and ethylene
glycol are typically
used. These systems
require higher horsepower motors to
achieve the same flow
rates as water as the
viscosity of the fluid
changes. Temperature
ranges between 50 and
210 degrees F usually
use plain water.
Processes over the
boiling point of water
generally rely on oil
and usually the mold is
being heated, even
though the mold has
to cool the plastic to
eject it.
Reynolds Numbers
A method used in mold
design to describe the
mold temperature control fluid flow in a
mold, either laminar or
turbulent, is by a
dimensionless number.
The Reynolds number
takes into account the
pressure, volume and
viscosity of the coolant,
the resistance to flow,
length and diameter of
the channels and the
Illustration C: Bubbler in parallel coolant circuit. Area of center of
pressure loss in the cirtube should equal area of return.
cuit. Laminar flow in a
plastic mold, described
by Reynolds numbers
below 2,000, indicates
conditions whereby
heat is not efficiently transferred
from the channel wall to the circulating media. Turbulent flow,
Reynolds numbers above 5,000,
describe conditions where efficient transfer of heat is made
from the coolant channel wall to
the circulating media. Heat transfer during turbulent conditions
can be as much as three to five
times greater than with laminar
flow. Numbers falling between
2,000 and 3,500 describe a transition phase and typically is ineffective in closely controlling
mold surface temperatures.
A simplified formula for determining the Reynolds number for
systems using water appears in
54
LHP
Pipe Size
1/16-NT
1/8-NPT
1/4-NPT
3/8-NPT
1/2-NPT
Drilled
Channel
Diameter
.250
.3125
.4375
.562
.6875
Min. Flow
(gal/min)
.33
.44
.55
.75
1.3
November 1999
BLACK CYAN
PMS ID
MAGENTA
YELLOW
5%
25%
50%
75%
95%
Chill Plates
Earlier injection mold design guidelines describe the effective use of a
chill (temperature control) plate
made from the same copper alloy to
insure the same thermal conductivity. Testing at Western Michigan
University has proven the effectiveness of cooling multiple small cores
that have small diameters preventing water passages. It is necessary
that the core pin heads be firmly
seated against a clean and oxidation
free plate surface to insure efficient
transfer of heat.
Temperature Control Channels with
Baffles
Channels that divert temperature
control fluids from one level to areas
where heat is concentrated in the
mold can use baffles, Illustration B,
to positively direct the flow through
the channel. This type of coolant
direction is referred to as series flow
when multiple baffles are used.
Proper mold design starts with the
diameter and area of the inlet channel. The hole for the baffle, after taking the area occupied by the baffle
into account, must be twice the area
of the inlet channel, to prevent flow
restrictions and high-pressure losses. Remember when calculating
flow channels that twice the area is
not the same as twice the diameter.
Brass baffle and pressure plugs,
which resists the build up of water
deposits, work best in copper alloys.
Most standard off the shelf baffles
use a dry seal design, where standard pipe taper is 3/4 inch/foot, the
dry seal design features 7/8
inch/foot taper. To prevent high
hoop stresses on the copper alloys
straight thread pressure plugs must
be used instead of either tapered or
dry seal pressure plugs.
Another important consideration is
the clearance area between the tip
of the baffle and the drilled hole.
General design practice is to allow
the same gap as the diameter of the
baffle hole. Make sure that the baffle
is installed at a 90 angle to the flow
of the coolant to positively force the
flow up and over the baffle.
Otherwise leakage around the baffle
will result in inefficient cooling. An
effective method is to braze the baffle blade to the pressure plug and
mark the outside of the plug with a
line indicating the blade orientation.
Check to insure that the blade is
properly positioned when the pressure plug is tight.
As temperature control fluid flow is
positively directed through each
channel, care must be taken to
BLACK CYAN
PMS ID
MAGENTA
55
RHP
YELLOW
5%
25%
50%
75%
95%
Acknowledgements
The injection mold design guidelines were written by Dr. Paul Engelmann, Associate
Professor, Western Michigan University and Bob Dealey, Dealey's Mold Engineering,
with the support of Dr. Dale Peters, for the Mold Marketing Task Group of the
Copper Development Association. Kurt Hayden, graduate research assistant, WMU,
generated the illustrations. Research conducted by WMU plastic program students.
Disclaimer
These guidelines are a result of research at WMU and industry experience gained
with the use of copper alloys in injection molding. While the information contained is deemed reliable, due to the wide variety of plastics materials, mold
designs and possible molding applications available, no warranties are expressed or
implied in the application of these guidelines.
Contact Information
Information on copper alloys is available from the Copper Development Association,
at 800-232-3282. Technical clarification of the guidelines can be made by contacting
Bob Dealey, Dealey's Mold Engineering at 262-245-5800
For more information about the use of copper alloys in tooling, please write in 674 on the reader service card.
56
LHP
November 1999
BLACK CYAN
PMS ID
MAGENTA
YELLOW
5%
25%
50%
75%
95%